Erased
by ashley-myth
Summary: "I'll always remember you, Lucy!" "How can you remember something that never existed, Natsu?" Both Fairy Tail and Lucy are filled with lies. How had it gotten this way? Will they ever remember who they truly are, or will they be too late? NaLu; T to be safe. Give it a try!
1. Prologue

**Erased**

**By ashley-myth**

**Prologue**

_"If I never met you, I wouldn't like you. If I didn't like you, I wouldn't love you. If I didn't love you, I wouldn't miss you. But I did, I do, and I will."_

* * *

"Natsu! Natsu!" She screamed out his name, looking wildly around the battleground for the familiar pink hair.

The faces of all her Nakama, bloody and broken, flashed at her, but not once did she spot his dark, loving eyes.

"_Natsu!_" She had to find him. She had to tell him before it happened. Before it was too late.

Tears fell down her cheeks as she scanned the now bloody field, her guildmates and friends fighting. Fighting for _her_.

One by one, they all gradually fell down, their eyes wide with shock and grief because they knew. They knew they couldn't win.

Lucy had always known, really. They had been greatly outnumbered, and knowing they hadn't stood a chance, Lucy tried to tell her Nakama to retreat and run away. But Fairy Tail's pride forced them to continue.

And so she made the decision that her Nakama would hate her for. But it was _that _decision that would save everyone. That would bring back Master and Mira and Erza and all the others who had also begun to die.

But she had to find him. She had to tell him.

Taking a deep breath as she opened her mouth wide, she screamed out his name as loud as she could. Ignoring her burning throat, Lucy glanced around once more, exchanging concerning looks with all of her dying friends.

She wanted to tell them all. To tell them that everything would be alright. But there was no time- she had to hurry!

Making a bee-line to the main fight, Lucy shoved through all the men and women, friends and foe alike, fighting for their lives. Her eyes caught the sight of a struggling Levy standing over a dead Gajeel. Tears poured from her eyes, as she hurriedly read out protective spells.

"Gajeel," Lucy heard Levy choke out, "I'll protect you. It's my turn now."

Tears once again cascaded from Lucy's bloodshot eyes. The urge to help Levy, to comfort her, was so great that she almost ran over there and killed the three bulky men surrounding her.

But she knew that she couldn't. The time was running out.

Natsu. She had to find Natsu.

Forcing herself to look away from her bestfriend, Lucy continued running, screaming his name over and over again.

A large drop of rain landed on the crown of her head, mixing with the blood that covered her entire body.

She looked up, terrified, as the rain grew much heavier. In a matter of seconds, it was a downpour, soaking her to the bone.

The first sign. She didn't have much longer.

Where was he? She couldn't see him. What if she couldn't find him? What it she was too late?

She shuddered, just the thought of not saying goodbye breaking her heart in half.

Just as she began to speed up into a sprint, a warm hand caught her wrist, and yanked her to a sudden stop. She whirled around, her heart pounding with adrenaline.

And then, chocolate eyes met onyx. "_Natsu_."

Tears spilled over onto his cheeks as he gently pulled her into his arms. She could practically feel the relief that he radiated, and she was almost positive he could feel the same.

"Lucy. Lucy, I'm so glad you're okay. I was so scared... Everyone... Everyone's dying."

She felt a pang in her heart. _I'm so glad you're okay. _If only he knew that she was anything but that.

She clutched onto his wet and bloody shirt desperately, sadness overwhelming her. In less than an hour, Fairy Tail would be just like it used to be.

Without her.

"Natsu," She sobbed, squeezing her eyes shut. "Natsu, I'm so sorry! I'm so, so sorry..."

He held her tighter, burying his face in the crook of her neck as he breathed in her scent. "I told you," he whispered mournfully, "None of this is your fault."

"I made the deal!" She blurted, biting her lip so hard it drew blood.

Instantly, Natsu froze, his muscles tensing. Pretending he had heard her wrong, he grunted, "What?"

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!" She wailed and as if the urgency in her voice made him believe, he fell to the ground slowly, dragging her onto his lap.

Shaking violently, Natsu could feel the tears streaming down his cheeks. "Lucy. How could you?" He chocked, "What... What are we going to do... without you?"

"I''m so sorry," She whispered sadly, embracing him as she hid her face in his chest. This was all her fault. But his grief wouldn't last long. He would be as cheerful as ever soon enough.

"... How long?" He demanded, and she could hear the stubbornness in his voice. He thought he could save her. He thought she _wanted _to be saved.

"Less than five minutes, I'm guessing," She sighed, knowing that he was wrong and that there was nothing that could be done.

But Fairy Tail was going to be safe, and that was all that mattered.

He let out another sob. "Oh God!"

She breathed out his name softly, soaking in his warmth. This would be the last time she would be held by him.

Hell, this would be that last time she was held _period_.

As if he heard the resignation in her voice, Natsu clutched onto her tightly. "No! NO! I won't let you disappear, Lucy. I won't."

She smiled sorrowfully, shaking her head in slight amusement. "I love you, Natsu. Thank you. For everything."

Taking her head in his large hands, he brought her face to his, kissing her lips one, two, three times. "Lucy," he murmured through his tears, "Lucy, Lucy, Lucy."

She let out a bitter laugh, knowing exactly what he was trying to do. "It won't work, Natsu."

"It will. It has to."

"It can't."

He wailed, leaning over her as he sobbed into her chest. "I'll save you, Lucy."

She stroked his unruly hair gently, her eyes glancing around at the fighting surrounding them. Her Nakama's bloody corpses covered the dark red grass.

Her Nakama... Were dead because of her.

But not for long. No, she would fix the damage that had been done. She would save them. She would save all of them.

Though, not without a cost. Nothing could ever be done without a cost.

"No," she said softly, "You won't."

"I swear I will."

She shook her head woefully. "You won't remember me."

He shakes with a mixture of insane laughter and grief. "How could I possible forget you? I'll always remember you, Lucy."

Suddenly, she felt her chest tighten considerably, both her heart and head aching painfully.

It was sign number two.

She inhaled deeply, covering up her pain. "How can you remember something that never existed, Natsu?"

He gripped her arms tightly, almost too tightly. "You did exist, Lucy! You _are _existing. You... Changed Fairy Tail. You changed _me_."

A large piece of her heart shattered at his words, and tears once again started to fall down her face. "I'm so sorry! I love you, Natsu. I love you so much."

"God," he moaned, slapping his chest with an annoyance. "I love you, too, Lucy. So much it hurts... My head. My heart. They're pounding. Please. Please don't leave me."

"It's because of our memories," she whispered, "They're dissolving."

His grip on her immediately tightened. "NO!" He roared, the fire within him yearning to be released. "NO, I won't let them . I'll remember you, Lucy! I'll save you! I swear I will."

The memories, all of their memories together, had already begun vanishing, however, starting with day number one.

The third and final step was starting.

Knowing what that meant, Lucy forced herself to look at her body, and even though she had been expecting her skin to be transparent, she gasped in shock anyway.

He leaned away from her slightly, hesitantly looking for why she had gasped, and at the sight of her see-through skin, fresh tears escaped his red eyes. "L-Lucy..."

Her heart throbbed painfully. "Natsu, if you do remember... me, please help them... rem-ember also... and don't... ever..."

Lucy never got to finish the words she knew were impossible though, for at that moment her lips had vanished along with most of her body.

"L-Lucy?" He whimpered. "Lucy, don't go..."

Her eyes fluttered shut briefly, and she knew this would be her last moment alive.

"LUCY!" He yelled, "LUCY, come back! Come back to me!"

She caught his eye, wishing to tell him how much she loved him, trying to convey her emotion telepathically.

"Lucy, please!" He sobbed, tears streaming down his cut up cheeks.

_I'm so sorry, Natsu._

Lucy's vision began to falter, everything but Natsu's anguished face disappearing. She watched as his mouth formed words her ears could no longer hear.

_You can't, Natsu. No one can save me._

If she had had a heart, Lucy knew it would be breaking, but for some reason... She couldn't feel her chest.

_I love you, Natsu._

Big, dark spots started to cloud the only sight she had, until she was left completely blind.

_Natsu._

Terrified, Lucy tried to reach out with her hand, only to realize her entire body was gone. She wasn't human anymore. She was just a lost soul, helpless and afraid.

She knew she wasn't with him anymore. She couldn't feel his presence or smell the scent of blood and death. The feeling of being alone suppressed her, the total emptiness surrounding her mind.

Lucy could feel hands, however, cold and lifeless fingers digging through her brain, searching for everything she held dear to her.

The last words that she had tried to tell Natsu echoed in her mind over and over again, dodging the hands and she clung to them as all her memories and feelings were torn from her one by one.

_Don't ever stop loving me._

* * *

Well, that was weird, eh?

Haha, was it short? I can't really tell 'cause I'm using Text Edit. Which sucks, by the way.

Uhmm... I had something to say... But I totally just forgot.

Whatever.

I deleted all my other stories, guys! Most of them, anyway. Only the ones that had endings that didn't made sense.

See, I learned an important lesson recently. And now, Ima share that lesson with you.** If you write a story, make sure that every character has a good reason for every action they make. **

There. You're welcome. I just saved you a lot of grief. (:

Review?

xxx


	2. Long Missions and Cover Pages

I'm baaack (: This doesn't give an explanation for the last chapter, but we're getting there.

Thank you guys so much for all your reviews! Shout-outs go to **DuoMaxwell505 **for being my first reviewer and **dang regacho **for giving the longest review (: Thank you!

But thanks for everyone! I hope you like this chapter.

* * *

**Erased**

**By ashley-myth**

**Chapter One: Long Missions and Cover Pages**

"_No matter who you are, or what your circumstances might be, you are special, and you still have something unique to offer. Your life, because of who you are, has meaning."_

* * *

"_I said I don't want to!_" Lucy growled, glaring at her boyfriend of 5-months with slanted eyes.

"But why?" He whined, "It won't even take that long, Lucy."

She dead-panned. "Natsu, did you look at how long they're asking for the mages to protect them?"

"Yeah!" He grinned, as if proud he had remembered. "It said two-weeks."

"_Years_. Y-e-a-r-s! Not weeks, you idiot," Lucy exclaimed exasperatedly, throwing her hands in the air with impatience.

Natsu looked down at the slip of paper, scanning through the words before- "Oh. Whoops!" He grinned, scratching the back of his head bashfully.

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Why don't you find another one?"

"But I want to do this one, Lucy. It sounds fun," He moaned.

"It's way too long!" Lucy almost-shouted.

Natsu huffed, looking at the ceiling as he accused, "It's because you don't want to spend that much time with me, isn't it?"

"You know what, Natsu? Forget it. I'm not going on a mission today," She snapped, standing up from their table and marching over to a barstool by Mira, ignoring his shouted protest.

Lucy groaned, letting her head smack against the cool stone of the counter. "Mira, can I have some orange juice?"

"Sure!" She chirped, immediately sliding a glass over.

"Thanks," Lucy sighed, raising her head to sip at the beverage absently.

Mira smiled understandingly, "Natsu trouble?"

Lucy nodded vigorously, "He can be so exhausting sometimes."

"Wanna talk about it?" She asked, her eyes twinkling with interest.

Lucy smiled, "You know, Mira, curiosity killed the cat."

Mira beamed, tapping her temple to indicate the information her head held. "Yes, well, the knowledge brought it back."

Lucy giggled, "Oh, okay. He wanted to go on a two-year mission with me, and couldn't understand why I didn't want to go."

Mira's face immediately split into a grin. "That's so sweet! Lucy, you have a man who wants to be alone with you for _two whole years_."

Lucy shook her head softly. She should've known Mira would react so. "Yeah, I guess, but I'm not sure I could handle it. It's a long, long time to be away. Anything could happen."

"Oooh!" Mira lit up suddenly. "Maybe he wants to elope!"

Lucy automatically turned blood-red. "_Mira_! Of course not! We've only been together for-"

"5-months, one week, thirteen hours, and…" She glanced at the clock behind her head, before turning to Lucy and winking. "Fifty-seven minutes. It's almost your 8-millionth hour anniversary!"

Baffled, Lucy found herself uttering, "Woah."

"I'm kidding," She laughed amusingly, "Not about the numbers, of course, but I get that you don't want to go. Although, I'm not sure he does. He's staring at you like a hawk right now."

Lucy shuddered, goosebumps rising on her arms. "I knew I could feel someone's eyes on me."

Mira nodded, opening her mouth to say something when she suddenly let out a shrill squeal, clapping her hands together and crying, "Oh Lucy! I almost forgot."

Lucy raised an eyebrow, forgetting all about Natsu momentarily. "Forgot what?"

"I have something for you! I know you'll just love it," She smiled widely before disappearing behind the bar.

Lucy could hear her shuffling through papers, and felt herself smile at Mira's selflessness. The barmaid was always so ready to make others happy.

"Here it is!" Mira exclaimed, popping up and nearly causing Lucy to choke on her orange juice in surprise.

It was a magazine, Lucy noted, and Mira quickly began turning the pages. "Now where was it..."

Mira stopped suddenly and handed Lucy the magazine with an ear to ear grin. "Read it!"

Lucy again raised her eyebrows, as she slowly took it from Mira's hand. "Thanks. Now what am I looking at here?"

"Just look. You'll see."

Lucy spread the magazine in front of her so she could read, and studied the left page. She began reading out loud, "'And now, the two chickens have been announced the leaders of the strangely powerful tribe. The members have had no-'"

"_Wrong page_!" Mira interrupted impatiently, pointing the page on the right that held a giant picture of-

"M-Me?" Lucy whispered, her mouth falling open slightly.

_**Lucy Heartfilia, Celestial mage of Fairy Tail,**__ has recently shown drastic change in power. She now has the ability to summon several spirits at once for a higher amount of time. Lucy has been working hard to get better, and get better she has. Lucy has clearly shown what she is capable of, and has been announced, not only by myself, but hundreds of others, as the strongest known Celestial mage._

Lucy felt her jaw drop to the floor. "E-EH? The '_strongest known celestial mage'_?"

"And look, Lucy, you're on the cover," Mira smiled, closing the magazine and indicating to a picture of Lucy and Natsu, standing together as they held hands.

It might not have been the biggest picture, but Lucy was on the cover, the _cover_, of one of the top five magazines in Magnolia.

Lucy could feel the tears swimming in her eyes, one slipping silently onto her cheek.

She had been battling with the notion that she was the weakest member of Fairy Tail for almost a year now, and she had been exercising her magic endurance daily.

And now, finally, someone had noticed her improvement.

"Thank you," She whispered, scanning the paper for the author's name, "_Anton_."

* * *

**893 words excluding author notes.**

I'm actually hesitant to put this chapter up -_- It was extremely rushed. I seriously did it in under an hour.

I'm sorry :/ I just felt like I had to put something up.

Review anyway, okay? Criticism is appreciated, but no flames please. (:

xxx


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